Dharmawangsa Hotelone of the most luxurious hotels in Jakarta, with e.g. in-room butler service

However, luxury hotels in Indonesia are often cheaper than their peers in Singapore or Hong Kong, let alone e.g. Australia, Japan, Europe. So, it isn't like most visitors - readers of Lonely Planet guides included - can't afford them.

Plus, after a long flight (and possibly almost as long a wait to buy a tourist visa), visitors are perhaps more willing to splash out a bit on a hotel than they otherwise might be.

- How come so few hotels in Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Sumatra were picked?

Looking through the guidebook more closely, it doesn't seem as though the hotels in these regions are all bad. But, if so, it doesn't seem clear what makes the difference between a positive review and an "our pick".

On the other hand, it is clear the LP reviewers don't have a quota of "our picks" they have to give per province/island/region, and therefore they aren't just giving them to anyone.

While I have travelled a bit in Indonesia - 11 provinces so far - I haven't stayed at any of the places listed above. So, I am wondering:

1. Are these hotels worthy? If you have stayed at one of LP's "our picks", please share your experiences.

2. Are there other hotels - especially those not reviewed by Lonely Planet - that are also particularly good (or bad)? Please list your recommendations (and/or warnings); either below or, where possible, please consider writing a review via the IM Hotels page or hotel list page using these guidelines.

– Sahid Hotel, Medan, North Sumatra
I stayed there two years ago and the room was nice enough, but the exterior was clearly in need of renovation. The hot water wasn’t working, which the management hid from us until after we’d checked in and paid. The breakfast was very limited, and the toaster also didn’t work.

Ya, Dude, I’m sure those fine places you recommend for Jakarta visitors are fine indeed, but they are not in the price range of back-packers, for whom Lonely Planet was, at least originally, devised.

Back to Jaksa, mate! The istana Ratu is quite nice, under 3K, I think, and there’s a huge new one being built behind the old Ya Udah site. The Tator, my first Jakarta home, is cheap and cheerful, tho not for those who are too fussy. No TV, but A/C at least.

In fact, Blok M has an old one, the Losari, where I stayed some time back, and several new ones on Panglima Polim, for about 400K, which I haven’t tried but am told are okay.’
And that Marco Polo is said to be popular with Korean and Japanese business travellers.

The “our picks” are often totally arbitrary – and if you know something of the time and financial constraints that guideook writers work under then you will perhaps have some sympathy and will understand why they sometimes just pluck stuff out of their pantats…
It does have to be said, however, that some of the “our picks” in the current edition are particularly arbitrary…

OK:
Losmen Setia Kawan in Yogya deserves its listing. It’s a very quirky place with wacky artwork on the walls and a good atmosphere. That said, having been the LP’s darling for five years or more, it’s always full, and you can get a bigger, better room nearby for less…

Hotel Tugu Blitar definitely deserves its listing – a proper boutique hotel but nowhere near as expensive as the other Tugu properties (but this place is, it should be noted, in an entirely different price range and market to Setia Kawan – another issue with the “our picks”).

Hotel Rulies in Larantuka is a total joke. It may be the most pleasant – though not the “best” – place to stay in Larantuka, but the fact of the matter is there are no good places to stay in Larantuka, and to mention a grubby, worn-out little losmen at the end of the world in the same breath as the Tugu Blitar, or even Setia Kawan for that matter, is absurd.

Hotel Maliana in Kupang is a pleasant enough place at the top end of budget, bottom end of midrange, but hardly worthy of an “our pick”.
Merlin in Waingapu is just another of those hotels you end up staying in in one-horse-towns all over Indonesia – several storeys of rotting concreat and scabby white paintwork, broken AC units, dusty corners and slimy bathrooms. It might be the best place to stay in town, but that simply means that there is no place in Waingapu deserving of an “our pick” listing…

Chris, yes, I get around…
However, as I generally stay in places at the bottom end of the market so I don’t actually have many recomendations for genuinely nice places.
That said, just about everywhere in Padangbai Bali, and at least 50% of places in Ubud are more worthy of an “our pick” than some on the list…

In Surabaya I always send backpackers to the “Sparkling backpackers”on Jl Kayun. It only opened last year so didn’t get in the new guidebook. It ain’t got much atmosphere, but for backpackers it’s a great deal…
In a similar market I like Hotel Helios in Malang…
The only genuinely good place that springs to mind for me is Newa Sumba – in Sumba, surprisingly enough. It’s a long way from anywhere, but very nice…

Small vaguely relevant pieces of trivia I read in The Jakarta Post recently, may be of interest to Patung and some others:

1. Dian Sastro had her wedding reception at the Dharmawangsa Hotel Ballroom. Read more here.

2. The Dharmawangsa Hotel also hosted a meeting in 2004 between BI Deputy Governor candidate Miranda Goeltom and allegedly a few PDIP members of parliament. Meanwhile, the meeting’s alleged host – Nunun Nurbaeti, wife of the anti-graft PKS’s future Jakarta governor candidate – is off in Singapore receiving treatment for “severe amnesia“.

Had a friend stopping over this long weekend, who stayed in the Hotel Setia Budi, very nice, only 390K per night with breakfast. % mins from Sudirman, 10 mins from Rasuna Said. Pool under renovation, alas.

The Sensa and the Amaroosa in Bandung are two hotels that are deliciously fancy. They will no doubt make the list when the next edition is out.

The Majapahit in Surabaya deserves its place.
Hidayah in Moni is fantastic with views and a ridiculously cheap rate. the Susteran in Ruteng is just clean. Its miles from the town.
Hotel Lombok Raya is a joke, the Quinci Villas are far superior.

LP forgot to pick Amanjiwo (Borobodur) and Amanwarna(Moyo, Sumbawa), both brilliant hotels with prices to match.

Its probably a quick choice of the reseacher. Good as a rough guide I suppose.

Sorry, I can’t help you with Hidayah contact details. Currently, Moni has no phones, let alone Internet.

Most of the time, people can just roll up to the place you want to stay that night. That’s what I did on my visit there. Even in high season (June-August), it is highly unlikely you will have any problems finding a room.

Chris, it is nice to know that you also make review on LP ‘our pick’, LP is the best guide ever made in this Earth, I do respect their choice of their pick, coz I have no standard at all on my pick list. So to timdog, I would like to say ; ‘what is the standard of accommodation that our pantat is deserve to have a nice break and nap? simple question, but I’m sure you need days to figure out. cheers